What's new

Simple names for USB attached drive?

  • SNBForums Code of Conduct

    SNBForums is a community for everyone, no matter what their level of experience.

    Please be tolerant and patient of others, especially newcomers. We are all here to share and learn!

    The rules are simple: Be patient, be nice, be helpful or be gone!

jsmiddleton4

Very Senior Member
I have a USB drive attached to an ASUS AX-86U. I've had the drive attached to previous routers as well. Easy way to have network drive and it is very easy to Eject, move to a laptop, update video files, etc., pop it back in the router.

If I check "Simple Share Naming" I can't find the attached drive. I can find the router. There's even a little > next to it like there's something there. If I click on it though, Windows says, "Path not found...", something like that.

If I uncheck "Simple Share Naming" everything is hunky dory.

Doesn't matter if its guest or have to log in.

Doesn't matter if I use Private or Public network.

Doesn't matter if I enable or disable the auto find network resources in Windows.

The setting that makes it or breaks it is the Simple Name Sharing.

Also I can find the drive with Simple Name Sharing enabled IF I enter the router's IP address with all the right "\" and name for the folder on the drive in Windows Map Drive function. The drive is there. Windows won't see it automtically unless as noted I disable Simple......

I have it working fine. Who cares if its simple name sharing, if I have to enter IP manually, etc.? Only matters I can map it one way or the other.

What's going on though? Is there some setting, option, I'm missing?

Why would Simple Name Sharing not send out the path information on the network so Windows can hear and, see it and use it?
 
To try and narrow down the issue..

Is your router configured for SMBv1, SMBv2 or both?
Is your router in "router mode" or "AP mode"?
What version of Windows?
Have you enabled SMBv1 support in Windows?
Do you have any other Samba servers on your LAN?
 
All very important questions @ColinTaylor I too suspect it’s more on the Windows side.

FWIW, on my Windows 10 devices I leave SMB 1.0 disabled and set Samba to v2 only on the router.

On windows make sure network discovery is enabled in network sharing center (and your network is set to private).
Also make sure the two “Function Discovery…” windows services are started. A long time ago I remember reading these are rhe new services that help enumerate network devices and shares.
 
SMB 1 and 2
SMB 1 enabled in Windows.
No other SMB server devices.
Router is AP mode.
Windows 10

If SMB was not working, how would it work with not enabling simple sharing?

Have all network discovery on.
Have reviewed services a bazillion times. All relevant ones enabled and running.

Private or Public behave the same.

WINS and Master Browser both ”No”.
 
Last edited:
If SMB was not working, how would it work with not enabling simple sharing?
I can't think of any logical reason either. I can only speculate that there's some obscure bug causing SMB name resolution and Windows discovery not to work. My setup is the same as yours apart from my router being in "router mode" and everything works.

That said, Windows has an annoying habit of "half remembering" SMB devices on the LAN after they have changed. So sometimes you need to reboot Windows to get it to correctly rediscover them.

After switching to short names SSH into the router and confirm that all the services are running:
Code:
# ps w | egrep "mbd|wsdd2" | grep -v grep
 3093 admin    11776 S    /usr/sbin/nmbd -D -s /etc/smb.conf
 3095 admin    11944 S    /usr/sbin/smbd -D -s /etc/smb.conf
 3097 admin     1872 S    /usr/sbin/wsdd2 -d -w -i br0 -b sku:RT-AX86U,serial:f02f749237d8
 
They're all running. Driving me nuts I tell you.

The network resource is there and addressable. If it was non-existent I'd not be able to map it manually with the router's IP.

All the tips for network issues, registry hacks, etc., are if Windows can't find the drive at all.

Whatever the router does or doesn't do when Simple File Sharing is enabled, Windows can't hear it, does and can't understand it, etc.

I'm not reinstalling Windows clean for something like this. It works just fine without Simple File Sharing. I'd bet that'd fix it though.
 
They're all running. Driving me nuts I tell you.

The network resource is there and addressable. If it was non-existent I'd not be able to map it manually with the router's IP.

All the tips for network issues, registry hacks, etc., are if Windows can't find the drive at all.

Whatever the router does or doesn't do when Simple File Sharing is enabled, Windows can't hear it, does and can't understand it, etc.

I'm not reinstalling Windows clean for something like this. It works just fine without Simple File Sharing. I'd bet that'd fix it though.
Just a thought, did you make file on usb memory in samba under "user"?
 
PFsense on a Dell mini-tower 390 with 3 2.5gbe NIC's. One to the AX86U, one to my 2.5ge port on modem, one to 2.5gbe clients. The Dell 390 mini-tower has 4 pci-e slots. 5 if you count the video card slot. Only needed 3.

Thing screams. Its a quad core i5.

By using the 2.5gb port on the AX-86U wireless clients are hitting their peak performance as its wireless section is outstanding. I'm maximizing my "more than 1gb" ISP connection via one of the other 2.5gbe cards. Comcast ISP going as fast as it can now but they don't make any promises. Greater than 1 gb is as good as it gets. Routinely running 1.2gbs. I've tested at 1.8gb on occasion. AX wireless clients aren't being held back. I don't have that many wired 2.5gb clients but the few I have, man, load stuff off my Synology NAS in a blink of an eye even though its only 1gb ethernet. I've thought about one of the Asustor's with 2.5gb port. I don't think it can get any faster.

I've thought about taking the USB drive off the router and plug it into the NAS USB port. Its not USB 3 though.
 
Last edited:

Similar threads

Sign Up For SNBForums Daily Digest

Get an update of what's new every day delivered to your mailbox. Sign up here!
Top